US authorities have arrested and charged a 35-year-old Indian-origin woman in New Jersey for allegedly killing her two young children, Fox 29 reported. The woman has been identified as Priyatharsini Natarajan, a resident of Hillsborough, New Jersey. Investigators say the incident happened on Tuesday, when her two sons were found dead inside their home.
Indian-origin woman arrested in US over deaths of young sons
According to Fox 29, citing Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald, police received a 911 call at around 6.45 pm on January 13. The call was made by a person believed to be the children’s father, who told police that when he returned home from work, he found his two sons (aged five and seven) unconscious inside a bedroom. During the call, he claimed that his wife “did something to them.” Emergency responders rushed to the apartment, but despite their efforts, both children could not be saved.
Authorities have not yet shared how the children died. Officials said the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Mother arrested and charged
The boys’ mother, Priyatharsini Natarajan, who is 35 years old, was later arrested after an investigation. According to Fox 29, Natarajan has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her sons. She is also facing an additional charge related to weapon possession, according to prosecutors. Natarajan is currently being held at the Somerset County Jail while she awaits her court appearance.
People living in the apartment complex said the news left them completely devastated. “A mother who killed her kids… it’s very, very sad. I pray for the families of the kids. If she’s in jail, that’s fine,” said Amaka Fidelis, a neighbour, to Fox 29. Some neighbours said the boys went to school with their own children at Sunnymead Elementary School. “It’s a great tragedy. No one should be going through that. I hope they find out what happened and why, and what was the reason, especially for the father,” said another neighbour, Bek Ibragimov.
A postmortem examination will be carried out by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. The examination will help confirm the identities of the children and determine how and why they died, authorities said.
Prosecutor John McDonald said the cause of death is still under investigation. The case is being handled by multiple agencies, including detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.